


things need to change

by eating_custardinbed



Category: IT Crowd
Genre: Angst, Black Lives Matter, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, I did a decent amount of research, I wrote this like six months ago?, Light Angst, M/M, Moss deserves the world and I would kill for him, Racism, Two Shot, Well some, im so sorry if I messed something up, so would Roy tbh, this has been in my WIPs for so long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28390638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eating_custardinbed/pseuds/eating_custardinbed
Summary: When Roy had gotten a call from Moss asking him to pick him up from the police station, he had been expecting something silly, something stupid that he could laugh off and tease him about for a few weeks until they both forgot about it...He’d never expectedthis
Relationships: Maurice Moss/Roy Trenneman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	things need to change

**Author's Note:**

> I am perfectly aware how shit the title is lmao 
> 
> this fic deals with racism and police brutality. I wrote it back in May/June, after the George Floyd protests. It’s been in my WIPs for ages because it was supposed to be longer, but I haven’t been able to figure how where it’s supposed to go from here. I’ll probably add one more chapter, but I’m not sure yet. please let me know if I’ve got anything wrong, I tried to do some research and I hope I did okay!
> 
> **DISCLAIMER: this is not actually how the British bail system works, as you do not have to pay, but for this fic we’re going to pretend that we’re like America and we do, mainly because I already wrote it before I had a chance to ask anyone (Google was being fucking useless) and I was too lazy to change it**

It was a Tuesday when it happened. 

Roy was chilling out at his desk, his feet up on the top of the desk as he lazily flicked through a comic book. It was nearly three in the afternoon and he was alone in the office: Jen had left early and Moss wasn’t back from lunch yet. Normally, Roy would have been worried, as Moss had not been there when Roy had returned from a particularly complicated job upstairs, but he had left a note saying that he was going out for lunch and not to wait up for him. So, Roy was taking the opportunity and having a bit of a chillax by himself. 

Of course, the peace and quiet didn’t last forever. Pretty soon the phone began to ring. Roy huffed, glaring at it. He contemplated not answering and just letting it ring out. However, he soon decided that he actually quite liked having a stable income and getting jobs over and done with as quickly as possible. He threw his comic down, gave the phone another deadly look and picked it up. 

“Hello IT, have you tried turning it off and on again?” he grunted into the phone. 

“Roy?” 

It was Moss. He sounded timid and utterly terrified. Roy sat up straight, alert all of a sudden. 

“Moss?” he said, confused. “What--” 

“I need you to come and pick me up,” Moss said quietly. He sounded as if he was on the verge of tears. Roy nodded to himself, clutching the phone to his ear and grabbing a paper and pen. 

“From where?” he asked. 

“The police station.” 

“What?” Roy exclaimed, eyes wide as he dropped his pen. “What happened? Are you alright?” 

“I’ll explain later,” Moss said. “Can you bail me out?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Roy said quickly. 

“Please be quick.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there soon. Bye, love.” 

Roy slammed the phone down, panic growing in the pit of his stomach. Why was Moss at the police station? And why wouldn’t he explain why he was there? Grabbing his mobile and his coat, he rushed out of the office. The reason didn’t matter. He just had to get his boyfriend before anything bad happened. 

***

Roy tried his best not to run as he entered the police station. He speed-walked towards the front desk, ringing the bell to get the desk sergeant’s attention. She looked up at him, seemingly annoyed by the fact that he’d dragged her away from filing her nails. 

“I’m here to bail someone out?” he said. She glared at him. 

“Who?” she asked, her tone belligerent. 

“Maurice Moss.” 

She paused, typing for a moment on her computer. 

“Bail is two hundred pounds,” she said. 

“Two hundred pounds!?” Roy exclaimed before he could stop himself. He flushed with embarrassment before clearing his throat and shaking his head. “Do you take cards?” 

As it turns out they did indeed take cards, and it wasn’t long before Roy had paid the money, although not without a few tuts and disbelieving sighs. Once the business with the money was sorted, Roy was instructed to take a seat in the waiting area. Here he spent a good twenty minutes fretting and flicking nervously through Jitter until there was a shuffling on the other side of the room that made him look up. 

When he did, he almost wished he hadn’t. 

Stood there was his boyfriend, flanked by an annoyed-looking officer. Moss was looking, for want of a less crude phrase, fucking terrible. There was a nasty-looking cut that was still slowly seeping blood on his cheek, his shirt was all scuffed and dirty, and his glasses appeared to be being held together with some flimsy-looking tape. Roy gasped, clambering up and going over to him. The moment he got there, Moss inched forward and buried his face in his chest. Roy could feel him shaking. Protectively, he put his arms around him. 

“You’ll get a letter in the next few days with details of a hearing,” the gruff officer said. “And if you don’t show it’s a hefty fine.”

Roy nodded. The officer handed him a clear plastic bag that contained all of Moss’ things before turning and leaving without a word. Roy made sure he had definitely gone before he led Moss to a chair and made him sit. 

“Hey hey hey, you’re alright,” he said gently, hugging him and holding him close. He began to play with his hair, knowing that it always calmed Moss down whenever he was stressed. Moss let out a choked sob, his grip on the sides of Roy’s t-shirt tightening. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.” 

They sat like that for a few minutes, simply holding each other as close as possible. Roy let Moss cry, knowing that it was the quickest way to calm him down. Eventually Moss let go and leaned away, sniffing away any more tears. He had left a small bloodstain on Roy’s shirt. Roy gently wiped away the tears on his boyfriend’s undamaged cheek. 

“They’ve charged me with resisting arrest,” Moss said quietly. Roy made a face, confused. That didn’t sound like Moss. That didn’t sound like Moss at all. Moss was respectful of authority to an almost dangerous level. 

“Well… what happened, exactly?” Roy asked. Moss shook his head. 

“I’ll explain later.” 

Roy opened his mouth to ask another question but instead stopped himself. He nodded, lacing his fingers with Moss’. 

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go back to work. Patch your cheek up, yeah?” 

Moss nodded, sniffing deeply. 

“Okay,” he murmured. 

He didn’t speak another word for a while after that. He stayed silent the entire car ride back, even when Roy tried to ask him about why he had been arrested, or why he hadn’t called sooner. When they did get back, it was nearly 5 p.m and people were starting to leave for the day, so they took the secret side entrance that most people didn’t know existed. They only had to climb over a few dead rats this time.

The basement was deserted. Roy sat Moss down on the sofa before disappearing into Richmond’s old room for a minute or two and emerging with a first aid kit that proudly proclaimed itself to have been produced in 1994. Still, it contained antibacterial wipes and plasters. 

“So how did you get arrested for… resisting arrest?” Roy asked as he mopped up the dried blood from around the cut with the antibacterial wipe. Moss hissed in pain as Roy caught a particularly sensitive bit. “I’m sorry, baby.” 

“It’s okay,” Moss whispered. Roy smiled at him before continuing to take care of the cut. “It’s a long story.” 

“We've got time, don’t worry,” Roy said as reassuringly as he could. Moss bit his lip, giving him a nervous look. 

“Well…” 

**_Earlier that day…_ **

_ Moss was walking through the park, clutching the straps of his bulging backpack tightly. Unusually he was alone. He was going to wait for Roy, but as the time dragged on it was looking increasingly like he was going to be forever, so eventually he ended up giving in and going for lunch by himself. He’d gone to an internet cafe and ignored everyone and everything for a very pleasant hour before he decided that it was probably time to head back. _

_ When he’d tried to go his normal route through the park, however, he found that it was closed for path maintenance, or something like that. Instead he’d been forced to loop around the edge of the park. He was feeling very nervous as he walked, constantly looking back and forth and watching his back. He was worried he’d gone the wrong way, you see. He wasn’t familiar with this route. Not only that, but he didn’t want to be late back.  _

_ Taking a deep breath, he checked behind him again. Nothing. Thank God. He seemed to be going the right way, anyway. He could see the gate in the distance. Yes, there it was. He smiled to himself, readjusting his backpack. It was feeling exceptionally heavy today, probably because he chucked in a couple of extra consoles.  _

_ Then there was a hand on his shoulder, and he froze.  _

_ “Alright lad, what are we doing here?” a growling voice said. Terrified, Moss turned to see who it was.  _

_ It was a policeman, a big burly policeman at that. He was a good few inches taller than Moss, and much broader. He could see his muscles bulging beneath his reflective Met issue jacket. Moss’ eyes flicked down to the officer’s ID number. As soon as he saw it, he had it committed to memory.  _

_ “Going to work?” he replied, his voice high and squeaky with fear. His terror made him sound incredibly unsure of what he was saying. The officer chuckled, rolling his eyes. He took his hand off of Moss’ shoulder.  _

_ “Show me what’s in the bag,” he demanded.  _

_ Once again, Moss froze in panic. Why did he want to see his bag? There wasn’t anything in it, just games consoles and his lunchbox. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at his shoes. Yeah, there was no harm in showing him, right?  _

_ The problem was, he’d hesitated just a moment too long.  _

_ Before he knew what was happening, he felt the officer’s hand tug on his bag. On instinct, he tried to pull away, taking only one step forward. He heard the officer swear, and then there were arms around his waist pushing him to the ground.  _

_ He hit the pavement almost fully in the face, only a last-minute twist away saving him. His glasses broke, landing in front of him in two pieces. There was an immense amount of pressure on his back, probably from the burly police officer sitting on it. His hands were pulled behind him and he was cuffed straight away.  _

_ He tried to move his head, groaning a little. The officer murmured something inaudible, and then put his hand on the back of Moss’ head and pushed his cheek into the ground. Moss couldn’t help but cry out in pain as he felt something cut into his cheek.  _

_ “I’m arresting you on suspicion of possession and distribution of illegal substances,” the officer barked. “You do not have to say anything but anything you do say may be used against you as evidence in a court of law, do you understand?”  _

_ Moss whimpered, closing his eyes. He could just about hear people whispering and gasping over the blood pumping in his ears. He imagined they were pointing as well. His train of thought, however, was broken when the officer put more pressure on his head, forcing whatever was cutting into his cheek to cut in even further. “I said, do you understand!?”  _

_ “I understand, I understand!” Moss hollered quickly.  _

_ The officer had his knee right between his shoulder blades, and it was beginning to get a little more difficult to catch his breath. Blasted asthma. It always popped up at the worst of times. He could hear the officer talking into his radio. Flexing his wrists, he could feel the cool metal starting to dig into them. Desperately, he tried to tap the officer.  _

_ “What?” the officer snapped.  _

_ “Please get off me,” Moss begged, his voice small. The officer gave a mocking chuckle, and simply applied more pressure, going back to his radio.  _

_ Thank God the backup was only a minute or two away, and once the other officers got there the first one finally got off of his back and hauled him up. Moss took a deep breath, but immediately regretted it as his ribs angrily protested. He looked down at the ground, his eyes filling with tears.  _

_ “What happened?” one of the responding officers asked.  _

_ “He was looking shifty, so I politely asked him what he was doing and then asked to see his bag, as I suspect that he is carrying illegal substances,” the officer said. “He was then verbally abusive, attempted to punch me and tried to run. I was forced to restrain him and cuff him.”  _

_ Moss looked up, mouth hanging open in shock. That was a blatant lie! That wasn’t what happened at all!  _

_ “That’s not true,” he blurted before he could stop himself. All of the officers gave him a disbelieving look. As soon as the responding officers weren’t looking, the arresting officer shot Moss a spiteful smile.  _

_ “We’ll check the bodycam footage,” the responding officer said.  _

_ So he was shoved into the back of the police car and taken to the station. Once there, he had to hand over all of his things, consent to a full search (which had been horrible and humiliating) and give them all of his details to put into the system. When all that had been done and he was waiting in an interrogation room, they all gathered as the officer’s body camera was plugged in and the footage was pulled up.  _

_ The screen stayed blank.  _

_ “Must have been out of charge,” the officer shrugged. He didn’t seem overly bothered by it. He was holding Moss’ backpack in his hands, looking triumphant. “Now, let’s see what we have here.”  _

_ Unzipping it, he eagerly upended it and let its contents fall onto the metal table. What followed was a horrible crescendo of clanging and banging as metal hit metal and all of Moss’ electronics landed on the table. Moss winced, unable to look away as some of his best games consoles became scratched, damaged and dented. The officer sat back, blinking in confusion.  _

_ “This is just… games consoles,” the other officer, a kindly-looking woman, said, sounding bewildered. The arresting officer made a noise somewhere between a strangled cat and a lawnmower running over rocks, stood and angrily stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Moss jumped at the sound. The kindly woman came around, taking the officer’s seat. “If all you had was games consoles, why did you do what you did?”  _

_ “I didn’t,” Moss protested, leaning forward. “I took one step forward when he grabbed my bag and then he was tackling me to the ground!”  _

_ “What about the verbal abuse?”  _

_ “I didn’t say a word.”  _

_ The woman gave him a look, as if imploring him to tell the truth. She pulled a file over to herself and flicked it open.  _

_ “You do have a previous conviction for shoplifting,” she said. Moss blushed, nodding.  _

_ “That was when we bunked off,” he said. “Things got a bit out of hand.”  _

_ “I’m sorry, but it’s your word against his,” the woman said. She shrugged a little, closing the file and pushing it to the side. “Do you want to make a phone call?”  _

“So I called you, they put me in a cell for a bit and here we are,” Moss finished, looking down at his lap. Roy hadn’t said a word or even tried to interject the entire time he’d been talking. He chanced a look up. Roy’s face was entirely blank. “Roy?” 

“We’re going back there right now,” Roy said. His voice was low and growling, and Moss unconsciously flinched away from him. Roy noticed and reached forward, taking his hand. “We’re going there and we’re filing a report.” 

“We can’t!” Moss blurted. He could feel his eyes filling with tears again. 

“Why--” Roy started, but Moss shook his head. 

“You don’t get it,” Moss insisted. “We can’t make a complaint. I’ll just pay the fine and it’ll be over with.” 

“Moss…” Roy started to say, but then he saw his boyfriend’s face and decided it might be best to leave it. “Alright, fine.” He looked down at the wipe, and then back up at Moss. “How does your cheek feel?” 

“Better, thank you,” Moss said. Roy smiled, getting up and disposing of the dirty wipes. He was in the back room, messing around with something or other in an attempt to deal with his emotions, when Moss was flipping him round, pushing him against the wall and kissing him roughly. 

Any other day, Roy would have happily let this happen, but not today. He pulled away, giving Moss an alarmed look. 

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” he said. Moss gave him a hurt look. “You’re hurt, you’re upset, I don’t think this is the best idea.” 

“Roy, please,” Moss said. He leant forward and kissed Roy slowly, gently. Of course Roy leaned into that, his hands coming to rest on Moss’ hips. “I need this. I need  _ you _ .” 

Roy shook his head. Moss shook his head, baffled. He’d employed every trick he knew. Roy really didn’t want to. That was… weird. 

“Tomorrow,” Roy said. “Movies and snacks tonight, okay?” 

Moss nodded, giving in. Movies and snacks sounded… nice, anyway. A bit of normality. Plus if he stayed at Roy’s tonight, he wouldn’t have to deal with his mother’s awkward questions. They smiled at each other. 

The smiles were still strained. 

***

The issue didn’t come up again until the next day, when they were sitting at work and Roy noticed Moss wincing every time he moved. 

“You alright?” he asked from his desk. Moss looked up from his computer, nodding. 

“Fine,” he replied. Roy narrowed his eyes, going back to his computer for a moment before looking back up. 

“Could you chuck me a pen?” he said. Moss nodded again, reaching over across his desk. There it was again! The wince! “You’re lying!” Roy exclaimed. Moss flushed, looking down at his desk. 

“My ribs are a bit sore, okay?” Moss snapped. Roy blinked, leaning back a little. Moss didn’t normally snap at him. “It’s fine.” 

“Moss, it’s not okay!” Roy replied. If looks could kill, the one Moss shot at him would have struck him dead on the spot. “Last night you wouldn’t even show me your torso. How bad is it?” 

“I haven’t looked,” Moss mumbled. Once again he looked like he was about to cry again. “I don’t want to.” 

“You have to look,” Roy said. He stood up, coming over to Moss’ desk. “We’ll look together, alright?” 

Moss looked up at him and nodded, taking a deep breath. They both stood and went over to the furthermost corner of the office, so that if someone walked in they would have a bit of time to sort things out. Moss nervously undid his tie, but stopped at his top button. He looked up at Roy, reaching forward and pulling him into a hug. Roy let him, reaching up and messing with his hair again. A moment or so later Moss let him go and continued to unbutton his shirt. 

When he finally took it off, Roy couldn’t contain his gasp. 

All across Moss’ ribs were deep purple bruises. They stretched all across his torso and even onto his back. There was a huge purple blotch in between his shoulder blades, and Roy could only assume that was where the officer’s knee had been. All of the bruises looked incredibly painful, and a few of them felt hot to the touch. Roy shook his head in disbelief, circling his boyfriend to get a full view of all the bruises. He snuck his phone out and snapped a few pictures, one of the bruises on Moss’ back in particular. He couldn’t help but reflect on how skinny and small Moss looked standing there, looking awkward and upset with his eyes closed, his head angled downwards. 

“Sweetheart…” Roy whispered, putting his hand over his mouth. 

“How bad is it?” Moss asked quietly. Roy shook his head, and Moss opened his eyes, looking down at his torso. “Oh gosh.” 

“That monster did that to you,” Roy said. His anger was beginning to build again. 

“He was just doing his job,” Moss said insistently. 

“ _ That  _ is not doing your job,” the Irishman shot back. “That--” 

Jen’s shriek stopped them in their tracks. 

They both looked up and over towards the door. Moss immediately tried to cover his torso up with his arms and to hide behind Roy. Roy moved in front of his boyfriend, as if on instinct. Jen was standing in the doorway of the office, staring at them wide-eyed. 

“What happened?” she gasped, taking a step forward towards them. 

“Moss got  _ attacked _ ,” Roy said. He felt Moss hit him, but ignored it. 

“By who?” Jen said. There was fire in her eyes: she saw Moss a little bit like an immature kid who needed protection. 

“A police officer,” Roy said. 

Jen stopped. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She put her hand over her mouth. She shook her head, taking a step backwards. 

“Oh my God,” she murmured. She shook her head again. “No.” 

“Yep,” Roy said with a grimace. 

Suddenly, he had an idea. Last night, Moss had told him the officer’s badge number, and surely he would be on patrol in the same place? He needed to get out of the office, anyway. “I need to go out.” 

Before either of them could say a word, he pressed a kiss to Moss’ cheek and stormed out of the office, although not before grabbing Moss’ backpack. 

From here, he made his way down to the park. Moss’ bag was heavy, as it was still stuffed full of various electronics, and it was weighing him down a little. This was not a problem, however, as Roy was assuming Moss’ nervous walk. He had known Moss for long enough to be able to mimic his mannerisms somewhat successfully, and Moss’ nervous habits were the easiest to copy. 

It wasn’t long before he was walking around the edge of the park, and he spotted the hi-vis that undoubtedly signalled a police officer. He clenched his fists by his side, pausing for a moment. Part of him wanted to march up and beat the everloving shit out of the officer, but the more sensible part of his brain knew that he was of no use to Moss if he was in the cells. Instead, he positioned his hands on the backpack straps, assumed the nervous disposition and strode towards the officer. 

When he reached the officer, he made sure to look over the badge. Yep, same number. The cop was a good couple of inches taller than Roy, so that would make him four inches taller than Moss. He was more muscular than Moss had described, and Roy winced as he imagined all that weight pressed onto his back. The officer nodded at him, giving him a small smile. 

“Alright, mate?” he said almost conversationally. Roy nodded, pressing his lips together. He didn’t trust himself to speak lest he start screaming at the officer. He looked down at his feet. “I’d be careful round ‘ere, yeah? We’ve had reports that there’s stuff going on around here.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Roy replied through gritted teeth, his voice forced. The officer nodded at him. 

“Have a good day, mate.” 

***

When he got back to the office, Roy couldn’t contain his anger. He threw Moss’ bag down, going straight into the kitchenette and ignoring the others’ questions. He slammed the door behind him, grabbed a mug from the drainer and flung it at the wall. It shattered with a loud bang. He heard Jen yell from the office, but he didn’t care. He was about to grab another mug when the door opened and Moss came in, taking a hold of his hands. 

“What are you doing?” Moss said quietly. Roy shook his head, seething. 

“You know why that officer did what he did, right?” he said. Moss looked down at the floor, and then back up at him again. 

“I do, yes,” he replied. He looked down at his shoes, avoiding his boyfriend’s gaze. 

“How can you just let him get away with it?” Roy asked, giving Moss a small shake. Moss shrugged, shaking his head a little. “He stopped you for no reason, attacked you and then lied about what happened! How can you just lie down and take it?” 

“You don’t get it!” 

Roy started, taking a step back. He’d never heard Moss take such a furious tone with… anyone. He hadn’t looked up, was still staring at the ground, but Roy could see that tears were running down his cheeks. 

“Moss--” he tried to say, but his boyfriend cut him off. 

“You’ll never get it! You’ll say you can, you’ll suggest things to help, but you’ll never get it!” Finally, he looked up. He had tears running down his face and he looked furious, and yet incredibly upset at the same time. “I can’t do anything about it, because no one is going to believe me over him! It’s easier to pay a fine than try and fight it and end up in jail! You don’t get it, okay!? You don’t have people crossing the street to avoid you! You haven’t had security guards watch you in a shop when all you’re doing is looking at groceries! You’ve never had little old women clutching at their purses just because you’re standing next to them! You were never bullied at school because you were  _ ‘the weird kid with the puffy hair and the dark skin’ _ !” He paused, his breath hitching as he tried to stop his tears. He pulled his hands away from his boyfriend. “So stop suggesting things to make it better, because you don’t  _ get  _ it!” 

Roy opened his mouth to say something,  _ anything _ , but no words came. Moss shook his head, taking another step backwards. That kicked Roy into action and he stepped forward, reaching out for Moss’ hands. Moss let him take them, looking back down at the floor. Roy pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. Moss nodded, burying his face into his partner’s shoulder. “I love you, and I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t realise all this stuff even went on.” 

“Most people don’t,” Moss said. “It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” 

“No, yell, please,” Roy said. They let each other go and Moss let out a small laugh, smiling a little. “I want you to tell me about this stuff, okay? Tell me when this stuff happens.” 

“I will,” Moss said. They shared a quick kiss, and Moss let Roy wipe away his tears before they went back into the office. Jen was sitting on the sofa, a sympathetic look on her face. 

“Better?” she asked. They both paused, but nodded. “I’ve called that lawyer friend of my aunt’s, and he says he’ll look into it.” 

“Tell him not to,” Moss said quickly. “I’m just going to pay the fine and leave this all behind me.” 

Nodding to himself, he went over and sat down at his desk, putting a hand to his ribs as he started to click around on his computer.   


Jen and Roy exchanged a look, but didn’t say anything to each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this! again im not sure when this will get updated but I’m hoping soon! please leave comments and/or kudos if you can, they make me so happy! black lives still matter even if it isn’t trending anymore 
> 
> stay safe and happy, yall xx


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